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I am running server 2012 and I wanted to setup a domain that I am using as a public domain on external dns servers, i.e. mydomain.com.

I want to be able to have it resolve internal boxes:

internal1.mydomain.com 10.0.0.1 internal2.mydomain.com 10.0.0.2

and know to send external requests out to my external dns for resolution:

external.mydomain.com external dns has IP

I think this might be done with forwards, but haven't found any good examples that would lead me to believe that this is the right answer. I appreciate any help and examples.

VirtualRules
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1 Answers1

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The DNS Server in Windows Server 2012 will resolve Internet names via root hints automatically. As long as the server has access to the Internet DNS system it will act as caching nameserver for your LAN.

Adding "Forward Lookup Zones" for the domains you want the server to be authoritative for (like "mydomain.com") will allow it to resolve names to records you specify.

Be aware that creating a forward lookup zone named "mydomain.com" will cause the server to resolve all ".mydomain.com" names itself. If you have existing names (or other records) in "mydomain.com" hosted by an Internet DNS server you'll need to either replicate them in the forward lookup zone you create or, alternatively, create forward lookup zones that are subdomains of "mydomain.com" to allow the server to continue resolving "mydomain.com" names from the Internet.

In your example I would typically not create a "mydomain.com" forward lookup zone. Instead, I'd create a forward lookup zone named "internal1.mydomain.com" with a blank "A" record referring to the IP address "10.0.0.1". That would allow any other "mydomain.com" names currently defined in an Internet DNS server to continue resolving, while causing "internal1.mydomain.com" to resolve on my LAN to 10.0.0.1.

Obviously, you will need to specify your Windows Server 2012 DNS server as the DNS server for clients on your LAN.

Evan Anderson
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  • Thanks for your reply and very detailed answer. so if I understand correctly, by creating an "internal.mydomain.com" zone. I wold then have clients such as internal1.mydomain.com 10.0.0.1 resolve by ping internal1.internal.mydomain.com Is that correct? – VirtualRules Oct 07 '14 at 20:30
  • If you want "internal1.mydomain.com" to resolve to 10.0.0.1 create a forward lookup zone named "internal1.mydomain.com". In that zone, create an "A" record with blank name using the IP address 10.0.0.1. By doing it this way "www.mydomain.com", "mail.mydomain.com", etc, will continue to resolve via Internet DNS. – Evan Anderson Oct 07 '14 at 20:37